Athlete&#39;s protective garment



Dec. 28-, 1925.

D. LEVINSON ATHLETES PROTECTIWE GARMENT Filed, 001;. 23, '1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ,Damd Leah/50w,

2 sheets sh eet 2 QavLd Lawn/ Filed Oct. 23. 1922 D. LEVINSON ATHLETES PROTECTIVE GARMENT Patented Dec. 28, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID LEVINSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOE, 10 WILSON-WESTERN SPORTING GOODS 00., OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

ATHLETES PROTECTIVE GARMENT.

Application filed Uctober 23, 1922.

The invention relates to athletes protective garments, and particularly to garments which are primarily designed to be used by baseball players, football players, and other athletes, who, during the playing of a game, slide upon the mrface of the field or floor,

' and in so doing subject their hips and legs to the possibility of injury.

It is one of the objects of the invention to provide a garment which will protect the hips, thighs, and legs of the player against injury and to employ pads which are connected together so as to allow relative movement between the pad elements forming the protective parts of the garment.

It is another object of the invention to arrange the pads of the garment so that one pad is permitted to slide relatively to another, or to the others, and to connect them 90 together in a way that their proper relative relation will be maintained when they are brought into action and use during sliding and also after sliding.

It is a further object of the invention to so construct the garment that the number of protective elements or pads may be increased or diminished depending upon the wishes of the user.

It is an additional object of the invention to construct a garment with a belt and skirt portion, to which the pads are, respectively, attached. By this construction the strains on the garment arising from use by the player are distributed and the lasting and 35 wearing qualities of the garment are increased.

Another object of the invention is to form the skirt portion in such a manner that it will readily permit the use of a detachable 4. support.

The invention will be explained and more readily understood when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which one embodiment of the invention is illustrated, it being obvious that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of an athletes protective garment constructed according to the invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the garment- ShOWn in Figure 1.

Serial No. 598,260.

Figure 3 is a section taken on line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4. is a section taken on line 4.4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is an elevation of a portion of the garment.

Figure 6 is a section taken on line 66 of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a plan view of the support associated with the garment.

Figure 8 is a view of the elastic insertor gore in the rear belt portion of the garment.

In the design of the particular garment shown in the drawings an adjustable main body portion, generally designated 10, is shown. The body portion has a belt 11, a front or abdomen skirt portion 12, and a rear skirt portion 13, which skirt portions are stitched together at the sides and extend downwardly from the belt. The top edge of the belt is provided with the binding strip 11 The front or abdomen portion of the garment has a placket 14:, with lacing 15, so that the garment may be adjusted to comfortably fit the wearer.

The belt 11 has at the rear thereof a gore or gusset 16, made of elastic, or other suitable material, to compensate for the expansion and contraction to which the belt is subjected, and to assist in making the garment fit snugly and comfortably.

The belt of the garment is reinforced with strips of webbing 17 and 18 which each extend substantially from the placket 1 1 to adjacent the elastic gore or gusset 16. A support 19 is removably attached to the lower ends of the front and rear skirt portions 12 and 13.

7 Two sets of sliding pads are provided, one for each side of the wearer. Each of the pads designated 20 and 21 is arranged next the body of the wearer on each side, respectively. Each of the pads 20 and 21 has its upper, straight end sewed, or otherwise secured, on the inner face of the main body portion 10 of the garment. The pads are sewed, or otherwise secured, to the belt 11 at the top, as indicated at 22 and also at 23 in Figure 5. The straight, upper ends of each of the inner pads 20 and 21 are caught under and secured by the binding strip 11 The inner pads 20 and 21 extend downwardly from the belt portion a suitable distance towards the knees 01" the wearer and are made with rounded ends. The inner pads are constructed in a manner to protect the wearer under hard and strenuous usage, but, nevertheless in such a way that th wearer may have complete freedom of movement at all times and in all positions. The inner pads 20 and 21 are each provided with a plurality of: eyelets 24, which are arranged in a row transversely of the length of the pad intermediate the ends thereof, whereby one or more additional pads, hereinafter referred to, may be laced, or otherwise secured to said pads. The inner pads 20 and 21 are irovided with the elastic bands and 26, which are connected to the opposite edges of the respective pads and which, with the pads, are designed to encircle the legs of the wearer and hold the pads 20 and 21 in their proper positions with relation to the legs and hips ot the wearer.

Outer pads 27 and 28 are, respectively, associated with the inner pads 20 and 21, the outer pads are elliptical in shape. The lower "Jortion of each 01 the outer pads sul stantially corresponds in outlue to the lower portion of the inner pads. The outer pads are connected adjacent their upper edges, as indicated at 29, 29, to the hip portion of the main body 10 of the garment. The outer pads are placed over the inner pads and both hang over and protect the sides, hips, and thighs of the wearer.

it will be apparent that, since the inner pads 20 and 21 are secured in straight lines, as shown, to the inner face of the belt and skirt portions of the garment and that the upper, rounded ends of the outer pads 27 and 28 are secured to the outside or the skirt portions of the garment, that the strains ensuing from the relative movement of the pads on each other when the player slides on the ground or floor will to some extent tend to lessen the wear and tear of the garments.

The pairs of pads 20, 27 and 21, 28 are, respectively, connected together at their opposite edges by means of the front and rear connecting bands 30 an 31. These bands may be of elastic or non-elastic material and are constructed to hold and maintain the pairs of inner and outer pads, as well as the intermediate pads, between them and in their proper relation, and to permit them to move relatively to and slide upon each other when they are in use and when the player runs and slides to the desired position. The intermediate pads, which are held between the inner and outer pads, hang freely from the line of lacing in the eyelets 2%, and although between the connecting bands 30 and 31 are not directly connected to them.

Removable auxiliary pads 32 and 38 are employed and, respectively, arranged between he pairs 01: inner and outer pads. Each 01 the auxiliary or intermediate pads substantially corresponds in design to the inner pads and has a straight, upper portion and a rounded, lower portion. The auxiliary and in mediate pads are provided with eyelets 34-. The eyelets Fi lin the intermediate pads 32 and 83 are arranged in alignment with the eyelets 24 in each of the finer pads 20 and 21, so that the attaching cord or lacing may be readily passed through the eyelets of both pads and there by secure these pads together.

The upper er re of each intermediate pad has a reinforcii strip 86 which extends the out width of the upper end of dad and has the cycle" t tS therein.

will be seen that, should the player desire to increase the number of the intermediate pads, this can readily be done. To accomplish this, it is only necessary to remove the cord, arrange the desired number of i erinediate pads, so that the eyelets are in alignment with the eyelets in the pads 20 and 2i and then thread the cord or lacing 35 through the eyelets.

is before stated, the main body portion 10 is designed with shirt portions which have the support 19 secured thereto. A plurality o'i' buttonholes 3'? is placed in the front and rear skirt portions. Buttons 88 are secured to the support 19, whereby the support is buttoned to the skirt portions 12 and 13. This support, it will be readily seen, not only serves to support organs of the player, but holds and maintains the front and rear skirt portions snugly against the body of the wearer and also holds and maintains the upper portion 01" the two sets of pads firmly on the hips and thighs of the player.

From the foregoing it will be understood that an athletic garment is produced which will diminish the friction between the body of the player and the ground or floor, and thus fully protect the player against injury. It will also be understood that the inner and outer pads of each set of pads of the garment are secured together, yet permitted and adapted to move and slide with relation to each other and thereby allow movement relatively to the intermediate pad, which, as before stated, is laced to the inner pad.

It is also evident that this intermediate pad may move and slide relatively to the pads arranged upon opposite sides thereof and that the sidewise movement of this pad will be confined or limited by the bands 30 and 31, which connect the inner and outer pads.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim" and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. in a garment of the character described the combination of a belt portion, an inner cushion pad secured to the belt portion, said pad having a row of eyelets arranged transversely of said pad, an outer cushion pad and an intermediate detachable cushion pad carried by the inner pad by means of lacing extending through said eyelets, said outer and intermediate pads being slidable with relation to each other and with respect to the inner pad, and means for limiting the movement of said outer and intermediate pads, said last mentioned means being connected to the inner pad and outer pad at opposite sides thereof, said means consisting of relatively narrow bands of material extending beyond the edges of the inner and outer pads and permitting the free end of the intermediate pad to move between said inner and outer pads.

2. In a garment of the character described, the combination of an adjustable portion constructed to encircle the waist and hips of a person, a plurality of pairs of cushion pads extending downwardly from said portion, a pair of said pads being connected together by a relatively narrow band of material stitched to each of the pair of pads at opposite side edges thereof and extending outwardly from said side edges so as to permit relative movement between said pads, one of said pads having eyelets adapted to receive a lacing, a pad also having eyelets for said lacing arranged between said first mentioned pads, said last mentioned or intermediate pad being detachable and movable relatively to said first mentioned pads and limited in its movement in a lateral direction by the narrow bands stitched to and extending beyond said first mentioned pads, all of said pads being movable lengthwise relatively to each other.

3. In a garment of the character described, the combination of an adjustable belt and skirt portion, a plurality of pairs of cushion pads extending downwardly from said portion, a pair of said pads being connected together by a relatively narrow band or strap stitched to opposite edges of each of the pads and extending outwardly therefrom so as to permit relative movement between them, the inner of said pads having a band for encircling the leg of the person and a row of eyelets adapted to receive a lacing,

a pad provided with a row of eyelets for said lacing arranged between said first mentioned pair of pads, said intermediate pad being detachably and removably secured to the inner pad by means of the lacing through the eyelets in said intermediate and inner pads, said intermediate pad having its free end slidable longitudinally and transversely relatively to said inner and outer pads, and limited in its movement in a lateral direction by the relatively narrow bands stitched to and extending beyond said first mentioned pads, all of said pads being movable lengthwise relatively to each other, a separate supporter adapted to be arranged between the legs of the person and means adjacent the ends of said skirt portion and said separate supporter whereby said skirt portion and separate supporter may be secured together.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 19 day of October, A. D., 1922.

DAVID LEVINSON. 

